When authors start playing: International Author's Day + 2 Giveaways

You guessed it. More often than not, authors play with your feelings. Yes- they murder your favourite character, or they bring a plot with star-crossed lovers, or a ship that doesn't make sense. In all that they do, they ensure that you cry till your tears dry up, you become a walking ghost, as you feel betrayed, agonized, overwhelmed -all at once.

John Green did it in TFIOS/ Looking for Alaska
Veronica Roth Did it.
Suzanne Collins did it
So did JK Rowling.
F. Scott Fitzgerald did it.


Here's a peek into their minds.

Let me write a plot which makes the reader go all:

Image: sadmoment.com

And the devil strikes again, s/he just got a plot twist to break your heart into more pieces than we can count

Image source: giphy.com

And when asked why they make their readers go through such tremendous torture, they'll just retort:

We all know there are both perks and perils of being in a fandom, and these are the perils. 

We love it this way, and we love our authors. We may hate the authors for a moment, but the extraordinary moments they give us can never be replaced- through the good and hard times, we love them because they give us the stories that stay with us, give us courage, and make us feel that everything is possible. 

For most of us, they provide the therapy from the disorder of everyday banalities.

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL AUTHORS' DAY

Enter the giveaways, yo!

1. I am giving away a copy of Can love happen twice? by Ravinder Singh

Romance Novels are sometimes too cliched. Maybe, romance is cliched too. 

But Love should be something out-of-the-world. The selfless kind, the pure love. 

Now, to win a copy of the book, all you have to do is

Tell me your definition of love.

The most thoughtful, yet hilarious one wins!

Rules:

1. Open only to Indian Residents

2. Word-limit 200 words- though I'd prefer crisp and short answers

3. Limited to one entry per participant

4. Mail your entries to findmereadingbooks@gmail.com

5. Last day to send in entries is 18th July 11.59pm IST

Questions? Leave comments below with your email id!

The giveaway is now closed

The winner is 

*drumroll*

Rahul Rai

2. I am giving away a copy of Half  Girlfriend by Chetan Bhagat

(Indian residents only)

Enter the giveaway below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This Giveaway is Now closed.

The winner is 

*drumroll*

Chittajit Mitra

I thank DDS @ b00kr3vi3ws.com for this initiative

To get your book reviewed, read my review policy here. And then contact me here.

Follow for regular reviews, author interviews and bookish love:

        

Pandora's Box for the e-bibliophile: Epubor DRM Removal

What would a Pandora's box look like to a bibliophile who has a huge library on different apps and e-readers, across a plethora of devices?

For you kindle users, you know how difficult it is to read your books if you are changing devices. For long, I have wondered how I'd continue to live with my books if and when I change my phone. For most of you too, it would be so intimidating to imagine a life without that huge e-library of yours.

A sigh of relief came when telling users how to strip the DRM from their legally purchased ebooks was declared legal, and not contributory copyright infringement in 2014 in a New York Judgement. Control became a thing of the past. And here we are: spoilt for choice over the various DRM removal softwares available. 

I receive a lot of ARCs i.e. Advanced Review Copies. They are all DRM protected. And using my email that I've used to log in into, say, Netgalley, I get a DRM protected copy only. Much of my reading happens during travelling and commuting, which is tricky considering I have only Adobe Digital editions on desktop and Kindle on laptop. 

I have been reading .acsm files on ADE for too long. And the lack of mobility was starting to get on my nerves.

Image credits: Booknook.biz

Epubor has come to our rescue. With its software, EPUB and PDF DRM Removal, it enables you to remove DRM from EPUB on ADE and transfer EPUB to iPad, Kobo, Sony Reader, Nook, Kindle, Android, etc.

The supported OS are Windows 98, 2000, XP, 2003, Vista, Win7, Win8 Desktop Mode

And THIS, just magically solved all my problems. Could you ask for more?

How does it work?

It is so simple, you'd question if it is even real. That is how surreal it feels. You just need to drag the encrypted files and it does the conversion. The conversion speed is also decently fast. I converted all the encrypted files on my laptop within half an hour, and believe there were a lot of books!

Anything that eases my reading is a godsend gift, so is this software. If you are not fond of too many technicalities and hassles, and just want your work done in a no-nonsense fashion, I'd strongly recommend this software.

Yay:

• Convenience? Check
• Ease? Check
• Speed? Check
• It performs what it promises, and might just surpass your expectations in terms of its efficiency.
• Solves the problem of mobility and transfer-ability
• Tested with ADE for a bulk conversion too!
• Friendly customer service in email responses
• Scans the computer for ebooks on its own
• The User Manual is a BIG plus

Nay:

The only problem I faced is the fact that it does not ask for the destination folder, and I have to actually copy my converted files back to the folder of my choice. I'd really really want to save some time here too, although its speed in its function otherwise makes this hurt a lot less! 
I can set the default folder in settings but it saves in my mentioned folder as well as in the C drive. 

Also it minimizes in the system tray.

Comments:

Sometimes, there are books in formats, or with such graphics which might hinder a flawless conversion and decryption. I haven't come across such instance myself, but I still think it will pinch someone who really needs it. i'd love to mention that the books I have converted were no less tricky- they had these huge graphics, complex fonts etc, but everything worked so exceptionally fine! This possibility is all but a conjecture though.

In the interest of full disclosure, I have been given a trial version of this software, and although no monetary compensation has been received by me, I would be awarded a license for the product. This fact has in no way affected my review because, come to think of it, why would I like to get a license of a product that doesn't deliver what it promises?!

About Epubor:

Epubor is a worldwide business dedicated to satisfying customers' needs with diversified software products and services.

They  provide both the best DRM Removal and format conversion software for eBooks

To get your book reviewed, read my review policy here. And then contact me here.

Follow for regular reviews, author interviews and bookish love:

        

When your favorite book turns into Damon Salvatore

Does the title of this article make sense to you?

Let me explain- I personified our favourite thing in the world- books. 

Books have now taken the identity of the sexy Damon Salvatore. 

Read on for a sarcastic banter and an exchange of witty dialogues!

1. When you sleep with your book, with the lights on. The next day you wake up cuddled with it, drooling all over it!

Image credits: teen.com

2. When you find a book at a street shop, or a garage sale - dog eared corners, that rusty smell, yellow pages. 

Credits: tumblr

3. The book just took a really, really unbelievable twist. And you just feel like your whole life was a lie. Think "We were liars" or "Everything, Everything"

Image: tumblr.com 

4. You still feel deceived. The book had been playing you throughout its plot- and you do what is the natural response in this situation. You throw the book away while you wait for the tears to dry. The book doesn't like how yooutreat it, and it blackmails you or it might just throw another cruel revelation.

Image credits: rebloggy.com 

5. Your favourite character dies. It's over. It's all over. But the book isn't over yet. While you are doing your job of being a burrito of sadness, here's what your book says

Image credits: pinkymccoversong.deviantart.com 

6. You are re-reading THIS book for the nth time. Maybe its your book boyfriend, maybe its the quotes, maybe the story.

Image credits: theodysseyonline.com 

7. It's either a mystery/thriller. Or this is a major cliffhanger in a series. 

Image: peress2.skyrock.com

8. The sequel was nothing you expected it to be!

Image Credits: wifflegif.com

9. You've tried to forget it, but that's the thing about pain- it demands to be felt. Your reservoir of tears refuses to dry up. The book is all drowned in your tears. And it just can't take it anymore.

Image Credits: Giphy.com

To get your book reviewed, read my review policy here. And then contact me here.

Follow for regular reviews, author interviews and bookish love:

        

Are you reading enough? : Work-life balance for the bibliophile

I've often heard people say how work-life balance is a myth. The first time this concept was introduced to me was in a business class- and clearly we were learning some utopian concept, it may now seem
I'm still just in college- and I realise how difficult it becomes to have a balance between these two pillars of life, and yet there seems to be no definite solution as such. 

I chanced upon this article "8 ways to a work-life balance" at Reward.me site. This blogpost will elaborate on why the aticle was useful.
And it gives some really handy tips for the same: they may strike as obvious but we always fail to implement these- we need to be told time and again and again.

Two of those concepts, however, have an unprecedented relevance for us bibliophiles, we are always trying to get more time to read and our professional/academic obligations take priority- leaving us sad and guilty of not having read enough!

One of them is cut-off time. 
The virtual world has brought us fandoms together, and we can interact and squeee together, unlike ever before. We rejoice in this convenience. However, an evident drawback has been the opportunity cost of this time. The time spent uploading, chatting, commenting and updating status on facebook, instagram, twitter is time not devoted to reading. 

Image credits: mashable.com

Sometimes, we just need to make a choice: it is a simple decision to turn off your gadgets, unless it is a kindle, and just dig in the book, As I write this, I realise that I spend hours and hours on social media- one link leading to another- which I could have easily saved for reading. After all the deadline-induced tasks have been accomplished, all my reading time often goes waste. Because instagram.

Another of those tips is me-time. It is like repeating what had been said before. And it is similar to the concept of cut-off time. We definitely need to demarcate time intervals as me-time. This time will be for introspecton, journalising, indulging in any hobby, watching that hilarious show, or ofcourse, reading that book gathering dust on our shelves. I could have read 10 more books than I have this year, alone by cutting-off from social media. 

Less talking, more reading. Image credits: driftingpages.wordpress.com

I suggest no such extreme- cutting off entirely-no, but I certainly do realize that the evils of excess are showing their effects.
I am participating in the ‘Ready For Rewards’ activity for Rewardme in association with BlogAdda.

Follow for regular reviews, author interviews and bookish love: